Nowhere to be Found
by The Genius Mage
Summary: Giftfic for RawkstarVienna. Joshua finds Rhyme's lost pendant, and Shiki discovers Neku's precious headphones. Light Joshyme and Neshiki ensues!


_~*__**Nowhere**__ To __**Be **_Found_*~_

Rhyme was near frantic with worry. She pulled at her hat for the umpteenth time that day, closing her eyes tight and her expression was miserable. One of the worst things had happened.

She had lost her bell pendant.

Now normally she wouldn't mind if she lost something else. Her cell phone even wouldn't be the end of the world. However, the bell pendant was special. It was a rare item from CAT, given to her by Beat, irreplaceable. It was her pride and joy, and the fact she had lost it in the chaos of Shibuya tore her apart. No matter how much Rhyme thought, _material possessions are not important_; she knew she was lying to herself, at least on the matter of her precious bell pendant.

Rhyme pressed her fingers to her head in gentle, massaging motions as she tried to ease her headache. Opening an eye, the girl watched the mismatched people of the city pass by her indifferently. She was sitting on a white bench near the statue of Hachiko, trying to think of any adage she could to assure herself it wasn't a big deal.

Her blue eyes closed again, gone, and she hummed a song to herself that just caught in her throat before dying away. _This is ridiculous! Just a pendant, I'm sure Beat will understand._ Rhyme opened her eyes when she saw someone had decided to sit next to her. She lifted her head, quickly straightening her legs and smiling at the stranger.

Rhyme was certain; she had never seen this boy before. He was lean, but surprisingly not much taller than her. He was shorter than Neku, certainly, with pale hair that was too dark to be blonde but too bright to be gray. He had on light clothes, a white shirt unbuttoned at the top and gray pants. There was a smile playing on the edges of his lips, and that's when she noticed.

His eyes were purple. They were very lightly violet, but they were a heavy contrast to the rest of his pale appearance. She had trouble thinking if he was young or old, because despite his young demeanor, there was an air of authority and knowledge that made it quickly evident he was wiser than he seemed.

The smile widened into a smirk, and Rhyme thought he had the appearance of one that smiled often. For good or for bad it was hard to tell. She was usually an excellent judge of character, but she couldn't read this boy at all. It disoriented her.

"Well, hello there." The boy's voice was light and almost feminine, his hands in his pockets, smiling all the while. Rhyme nodded at him cheerily.

"Hello, how're you?"

"I'm fine, thanks for asking." He replied mildly. "Yourself?"

Wondering why he was interested in her, or maybe he was just a passerby seeing a sad little girl, she replied, "I'm…okay I guess." No need to burden him with her troubles.

"You're missing something," he said in a singsong tone.

Rhyme blinked. "What? I mean…yeah. My necklace. It's gone." She studied him, not with an unfriendly eye, more of just curiosity.

The boy nodded as if he understood. "I've lost something too."

"Really? Can I help you find it?"

He looked at her, obviously observing her urgent, caring expression. "It's not something you can find, dear. I think it's gone forever."

Rhyme searched his face, as if she could draw the answer out with just a glance. "But what is it?"

"Nothing to worry about yourself, dear. But it starts with an H." The boy sighed, his fingers wrapping around something in his pocket.

"An H?" She echoed.

The boy tilted his head, watching the people of Shibuya go by. She thought his eyes were perfectly reflective, like lavender mirrors. "Hmm. Sometimes I think I lost my heart."

Rhyme was confused. "That's impossible."

The boy clicked his tongue softly in disagreement. "No, no, no. I really believe I lost my heart somewhere along the way. I don't remember the last time I felt affection for anything." Once again Rhyme thought she was looking at someone incredibly old in a young body, his shoulders were slumped as if he was growing tired of holding the world.

"…I'm sorry." She lightly touched his sleeve, and the boy's smirk softened into a smile at her touch. Rhyme didn't really understand what he was talking about.

"Anyway, my name is Yoshiya. You can call me Joshua."

"Hello, Joshua. My name is Raimu. You can call me Rhyme." She replied with a smile. Joshua smirked at her again before standing up, and Rhyme quickly pulled back her hand.

"So sorry to leave dear, but you will tell Neku I say hello, right?"

"You know Neku?"

"I'm a friend of his. I'm sure he remembers. Just say Joshua says hello." With that Joshua turned, and without looking back at her he removed the long chain of her pendant from his pocket. He bounced it in his hand, the bell ringing softly. He looked back at her with a grin, still not turning fully around, and tossed it into her lap.

"Hey, but…" Rhyme realized with a gasp it was the same pendant she had, not just a copy but her very own. She slipped it over her head, feeling comforted by its familiar weight and presence. She looked up. "Thanks, Joshua."

But the boy wasn't there, it was like he had vanished into thin air, or maybe just into the crowds.

* * *

~***~

Shiki had to do a double take.

She looked, glanced away, looked back incredulously. Yup, that was them all right. Neku's headphones. She knelt down, fear twisting her heart, to pick the blue headphones up from their abandoned position on the sidewalk.

Neku never lost his headphones. They were precious. Why were they here? Had something happened to him?! All of these thoughts ran through her head at a million miles per hour. She held the phones closer to her chest and ran to find Neku's home.

She knew very well where he lived, actually not far from Udagawa, but in a better neighborhood than Beat and Rhyme. She bolted through the crowds, ignoring indignant shouts and surprised gasps.

_Of all the days to leave my phone at home…_

Skidding to a halt, Shiki knocked rapidly on the worn wooden door of Neku's home. The house was two storied and the yard was well kept, despite the peeling paint near the very edges of the gray home. The door opened, and Shiki accidently hit someone in the face.

She pulled back with a squeak of surprise, panicking slightly. "Whoa I'm sorry! It's just Neku left his he-"

The person grabbed her hands to stop them from flailing so wildly. "Shiki, what's the matter?" Shiki looked back at him, and realized it was Neku, wearing something different besides his blue jacket. It was obviously the sleeveless shirt he wore underneath it, a light cyan that she thought didn't match him at all.

"Your headphones! I found them and thought you had-"

Neku looked at the headphones in her grip, took them between his hands, and made a face. "I try to get rid of the thing, and it comes right back."

Shiki was surprised, and she took Neku's irritation as a moment to peer into his home. Everything was mostly dark, lit by a yellow lamp, and she spotted deep reds, browns, and blacks all around the room. A book, thickset, rested on the arm of a chair near a stereo system.

Neku raised his eyebrows. "Shiki, I got rid of these myself." If he noticed her snooping to get a peek at his home, he didn't react.

Shiki blushed and stared down. "Oh."

"You were freaking out over that?" He snorted, stepping aside. "Come in, since you're here. My parents are out."

Shiki stepped inside the house, and now that she was really in it, she could smell a candle that was burning on the table, shedding an amber glow. It was deep, icy, and yet oh so familiar. It was the scent that hung on Neku's jacket.

"My mom burns candles a lot," said Neku in way of explanation. He sat down on the armchair, staring at the headphones. He sighed, tossing them on the table, dangerously close to the open flame of the turquoise candle.

Shiki didn't know what to say. She tilted her head to the side, watching Neku pick his book up. He looked at it for a moment, and she just barely saw the words _Shinigami_ on the cover, emblazoned with CAT'S insignia, before he placed it hidden between two cushions. "I know you want to ask." He said after a pause.

"Why did you get rid of the headphones?"

"They're rude." He said with a faint smile.

Shiki blinked, remembering she had told him that in the Game before they became friends. "What's the real reason? Being rude never bothered you before." She said with a grin to take the sting from her words.

Neku looked thoughtful, his eyes drifting downward. "Mostly because I'm not blocking the world out anymore. That's basically what they were, what they are."

"You don't want them anymore?"

"Not to shield myself from the world, no. I thought the world was small and stifling once…not anymore. Definitely not anymore." He added quietly, "I'm not blocking you out especially."

Shiki hugged her purse, which had Mr. Mew's black head sticking out. "I-I…Neku."

Neku smiled again, picking up his headphones and examining them. "These things are supposed to pick up radio."

She silently watched him sit beside her, making sure she saw the little switches on the blue phones. "Yeah?"

The flame flickered tiredly, and for a moment darkness mostly invaded their world before it found fuel again. Shiki thought it was like, in the dull darkness, only they existed.

Neku said, "What's your favorite station?"

Shiki suddenly understood and laughed, telling him the station. Neku turned them on, fiddling until the station was found. He then slipped the phones over both of their heads, each one of them holding it still.

As the music played, Shiki asked, "So is this blocking the world out?"

"Not really. Especially if I can still hear you, but that didn't stop you before."

Shiki laughed, lightly shoving him. "Silly. Someone had to be stubborn enough to put up with you."

Neku muttered something that sounded like, "And stubborn you are."

As the music continued into a quick rhythm, Neku gently intertwined their fingers, and the two sat there in their own little world, still open to everything else that mattered.

~***~

_**This is for RawkstarVienna, using her prompt. Joshua finds Rhyme's pendant and Shiki finds Neku's headphones. Happy late B-day!**_

_**Satisfactory, at the very least? If not you may shoot me now. *salutes* **_

_**I who am about to die salute you also, fine readers. My last wish is that you review!**_


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